Mesquite began in February 1880 when leaders and selected families of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered on the northeast bank of the Virgin River, with William Branch sustained as bishop and members assigned duties tied to the cotton enterprise. Because water was essential, the pioneers dug a seven-and-a-half mile irrigation canal, and the settlers enjoyed an ample harvest in their first year. In June 1882, however, a flood destroyed homes and breached the canal in fifty-eight places, and a month later Branch reported that the canal work continued despite severe heat, illness among the men, and filthy drinking water. Families began to leave, and by 1883, when Dudley Leavitt’s family moved there, the town was deserted; later storms caused the Leavitts to relocate as well. After two failed settlement attempts, a few determined young men, including William Abbott, camped along the abandoned canal in 1894 and repaired the damage despite meager rations. Water flowed again, land was fenced and divided, crops were planted, school classes began, and a voting precinct and post office were established. By 1900, nineteen families lived there in wagons, tents, adobe structures, and under tarps. Though crops were meager and poverty was constant, the settlers became known for resourcefulness, cheerfulness, and strong attachment to one another, and the community developed a rich cultural life of singing, choirs, bands, dancing, poetry, recitations, acting, feasts, picnics, and sports. Mesquite later gained outside notice when its grapes and pomegranates won first place at the San Francisco Fair in 1906, and as young men served their country, missionaries departed, and trails became roads and highways, the community’s enduring legacy remained the builders and dreamers who dedicated their lives to a better future.